I told you I was going to take things slow this week. Well I stuck to that rather surprisingly well—so I hope you excuse my absence. If I'm completely honest I wish I could disappear for a month. It would be so nice to just go and drop everything work related. I think I'm getting into one of those bi-yearly "I need a break" moods and fortunately my wish will be granted in a few days when we go on our long awaited vacation. Yes!

So...

I've been taking it really easy and work has been a bit on the back burner which makes this week's freebie a bit different. I didn't get any response with the posting of butterfly projects and I get it... it's the summer (at least in this part of the hemisphere), vacations are happening and family time is more of a priority, etc. etc. I'm going to undust my A Little Hut Projects Flickr group where you can post and share a photo of your A Little Hut project whenever you'd like. I'll accept anything that is related to my tutorials or my shop goodies that you've used. So feel free to join at any time and I can't wait to see what you post!

This week's freebie is really a giveaway of my latest Stationery Gift Box (I love, love it!) that will be open until Sunday at 8pm (central). If you'd like to participate just leave a comment here and let me know something about yourself—anything that you'd like to share. I'd love to hear from many of you. I will randomly select 5 winners and make the winners announcement on Monday. Sound good?

GIVEAWAY! - Stationery Gift BoxI love how this project can be used in so many ways! I can see it being used as a hostess gift, a get well kit (tea bags, yes?), a DIY card making kit for someone crafty in your life (buttons, brads, ribbons, blank cards?), a memory box of cards you've received, and so much more. There's a gift card insert in this set too! You'll still have room to include some candy or other trinkets to make your gift more personalized. Do you want your gift to be visible? Use the window box. Do you prefer to close off the whole box and decorate the outside? Use the decorative frame box. Both are included!

I'm going to make one of these for a birthday party that we will be going to on Sunday. I'll share on Monday!

Sometimes there are weekends you just want to do over simply because they were so much fun. This past one is one of them.

We went blueberry picking! It was insanely hot out there (even though we made sure to go at 6pm) but it was a lot of fun. To top it off we now have berries to eat for days and days (they're organic and only $2lb—at Moorehead's Blueberry Farm).

Random thing I'll remember: The kids would yell "Marco" and strangers among the trees would yell back "Polo". Everyone was laughing and we had no idea who was answering. Funny how sound travels in a field.

I'm taking it slow this week and getting ready for our trip. I can't wait!

Hello my friends! I'm so sorry for the late post. Motherhood has definitely taken a front seat this week and the summer balancing act continues!

This week's freebie is a butterfly which I used to liven up a Flowers Gift Card Set (not included in the download). I'm going to send a coupon thought/gift/three-dimensional card to a friend that needs a little pick-me-up. I'm not sure what the coupon is going to say yet but at least the pretty paper part is done.

The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches,

I was talking to someone this week about creativity and self-doubt. We were both having our own personal battles but talking it over with someone else is always such a relief. We know we're not alone but until we hear it from someone else it feels like we are. Don't you think?

I just think that creativity and self-doubt is something that just goes hand in hand. It's good to have some of the latter because it makes us really analyze what we are doing. The trick is not to get on the roller coaster where those feelings prevent us from making forward progress with our ideas.

If you're in the same boat, talk to someone about it. I typically check in with my husband. He offers me a different perspective and he always straightens me out. If you don't have someone handy then just ask yourself, "what is the worst that can happen?". The answer to that question, when it's put into actual words (not feelings) is generally something much smaller than we imagine.

So just get to it—that's what I'm doing this week!

If you hear a voice within you say "you cannot paint," then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.

The card I posted earlier wasn't really the one I wanted to show you. I didn't have a chance to take a photo of the actual card before my post. I wasn't going to be home all day and I wanted to be sure you got the freebie today. So here I am again... with the real card! Haha!

- You can barely see it in the photos but I scored the cake piece horizontally. It looks so much better in person.- The background hexagons are one of my new stamps (hee!).- The sentiment stamp is from Paper Source (I covered the exclamation point + star).

Now... we're off to take the birthday guy to dinner. Have a fun weekend!

In honor of Mr Z's birthday (feliz cumpleaños mi corazón!) we will all share cake! Today's freebie file is ready to go and as always it's available for one week only.

Please feel free to share your creations below during the next two weeks. I added more time because I know we're all busy and/or the summer is slow. Just click on the blue bar at the end of this post.

Shop UpdateYou can tell that I had gift giving on the mind. Here are two of the Decorative Tags that are now in the shop.

Friday TidbitPaper + gunpowder!- Today I only have one but it's a fun one. The kids and I went to the Houston Museum of Fine Art yesterday and we saw the wall to wall artwork called The Odessey by Ca Guo-Qiang. I hadn't been to that part of the museum in a long time so I hadn't heard of this piece even though it was made and installed in 2010. It's beautiful and it's amazing that the medium is gun powder of all things!

Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn't arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I'm going to be happy in it.- Groucho Marx

Happiness is also making flowers. They really are a lot of fun to design.The latest is this sunflower.

I have use the ribbon card file to cut a card front, which I have then mounted on a plain card base made from matching paper. All the papers and sticker elements are from the Paradise Beach Collection from Echo Park Paper.

After I cut the base, I cut strips of paper to fit the ribbon weave holes and threaded the paper through. You want to cut the strips of paper slightly smaller than the holes to make it easy to thread, and then secure the ends underneath with a tiny dab of glue

I find with simple cards like this, the paper and design really shines on their own and you don’t need a lot of extra embellishments. The twine is always a nice touch and certainly adds an extra splash of summer color.

I was so happy to get Mod Podge Rocks!: Decoupage Your World by Amy Anderson for review because I've been curious about the medium but I never had a way to know exactly what formula to use with what project. My first attempt was making coasters (remember?) and I've worked on other not so successful projects. This book is a must for anyone that wants all the answers and many ideas (over 40 projects) on how to use Mod Podge.

The book is divided into sections that include wearables, home decor and holiday. The first part of the book is what really drew me in. I finally understand what each of the formulas are used for and the projects are useful, decorative or just for fun. Below are some of my favorites. I have a feeling that we'll be using some Mod Podge this summer!

I see myself making something like this for Christmas.

This is a sure way to brighten up any piece of dull looking furniture!

Great idea for some family fun.

Amy starts her book with the following (and I couldn't agree with her more):

I believe anyone can be creative. But I also believe each person needs to find what specifically works for him or her.- Amy Anderson

You Are My Sunshine is what I used to sing to the kids when they were babies. If I think about it too much it gets me all teary. I of course still love them to pieces but the memories I have of them as babies are just the sweetest.

So this is the freebie for this week. Remember that if you're interested in sharing your project you can add your link at the end of this post. Click on the blue bar.

Enjoy!

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I made more cards...

You'd think I don't suffer from this problem but I do. I never have a card ready when I need one. I decided to tackle some of my scraps and correct the situation with some simple ideas.

I'm sorry but I don't have any Friday Tidbits today. I've tried to stay off the internet as much as possible. Having the kids home full-time changes things around here but it's definitely a nice change of pace.

The first full week of summer is always so crazy for me. Juggling work and mom duties becomes all intermingled and my priority list is a mess. Mom guilt creeps in there too.

So... I'm trying a little experiment I'm getting up at 4am every week day (started 2 days ago) to get some, if not all, my work done before the kids wake up. The kicker? The kids are getting up earlier than they did when getting up from school! Earlier! What on earth for and why oh why?

In any case, this tryout seems to be working for me. I'm sharp and efficient with work because I know it's just a matter of time before my alone time is up. We'll see how long I can keep it up. The real novelty is getting to bed before midnight. I'm a night owl and the 9pm bedtime is foreign territory but I'm making myself do it. Wish me luck!

Shop updateThe Fantasy Petals are finally up in the shop and new Petals Slides (which are great for gift wrapping and card making) are also there. The center of the slides can be customized in so many ways—I used embellishments and bubble caps cut with the Epiphany Crafts Shape Studio Tool which is my newest favorite tool.

Don't forget that the Leaf Tag will only be available until tomorrow night! If anyone is interested in sharing their projects that was made with the leaf or inspired by it, please upload it here.

I'm excited that they chose my Let's Go Boxes to feature for this issue—specially with a new little guy that has joined our family.

This particular set of boxes has always had a special place in my heart. When our D was a little baby boy he had nothing but cars (or anything with wheels) on his mind. You'll be seeing a bit more of this set down the road... I have more ideas related to this coming in the next few weeks.

I was just going through this issue and I'm kind of jealous of new parents. There are so many cool products out there nowadays. It seems like a lifetime ago when we were buying diapers and such. But now it's my brother and sis-in-law's turn—such is life!

- Today is the last day of school! Sixth grade and third grade are now history. Phew! The kids couldn't be any happier and I'll have to admit I'm pretty thrilled myself.

- As of 11:45 last night I am a first time aunt to a little guy that has already melted our hearts. Yay!!! Now to spoil, enjoy and give him back to his parents whenever I need a baby fix. Haha!

What do you have to celebrate?

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Today's freebie is about keeping it simple or using repetition to make something more elaborate. I made these two completely different projects with the same leaf image.

You can barely see them but I used wire rings for the wine tags and I used a couple of layers of Mod Podge to make the leaves water proof. Wine tags came to mind because we've been needing them for a long time and I kept being stubborn about making them myself. So I'll consider this the first project of the summer—check!

if you don't have a cutting machine you can still participate! This may be an image that you'd like to cut by hand or simply be inspired by its graphic quality to make something else. Just do whatever you're inclined to do! There are no wrong answers and the point of this is just to have some creative fun time.

Friday Tidbits- This bird nest project caught my eye this week. Newspaper is a great resource!- I'd love stand right here one day.- But I shouldn't complain because this will be our view for a couple of weeks in July. Can wait!

If you're interested in sharing... don't forget to post your projects below. Just click on the blue bar.

FTI - If you're reading my blog in a reader you won't see the link that let's you post your project. You'll have to visit my blog to do that. Thanks!